Suitors
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: Katniss's mother wants Katniss to marry now that Katniss is 18 years old. When Mrs. Everdeen sets Katniss up with several suitors, will Katniss choose one as a husband? Or will she remain single?
1. Darius

**Darius**

I know from the moment I walk into my house one evening after my hunt that something is different.

The difference appears in my mother, who approaches me with an uncharacteristic level of agency and practically throws my blue Reaping dress - the fanciest article of clothing I own - into my face. "Get changed into this. And set an extra plate at the table for dinner. We have a guest."

I frown, as I cross to the cupboard, remove the extra plate and set it amongst our meager dining set. "What's going on?"

"You have a gentleman caller," Mother replies. "A suitor."

I should refuse to put on the dress. Plus, I should demand of Mother just why she would agree to this. I begin to do the latter, but Mother merely points to my blue dress and then to the door of my room.

"Katniss, you are 18 years old. It is time for you to settle down and marry."

True, most children in District 12 get married when they come of age at 18, in celebration of surviving their last Reaping for the Hunger Games. But not me. Never me. "I hate to disappoint you, Mother," I retort firmly (even though I really don't hate disappointing her at all), "but I won't marry."

"You'll marry," she dismisses. "All girls marry."

"I'm not all girls," I snap, even as I retreat to the room I share with my sister, Primrose, and change into the blue dress.

As I do the bare minimum in primping and preening (I have never felt my face or figure were worth the effort), I seethe. Why would Mother actively seek a suitor for me? She knows my opinions on marriage, opinions that I have held since I was a young girl. Opinions formed in no small part due to the death of my father, and how this event all but destroyed my mother emotionally. Considering it was her husband whom she lost, I would think that Mother might be sympathetic to my reluctance to entrust my heart to any man.

Then again, perhaps what I _want_ is something that Mother has never even considered, preferring instead to focus on what the family _needs_. And that is money. Economic security. Mother has been running a decent Healer business ever since she married Daddy, but she is not getting any younger, and her pay is at the mercy of whatever the poor people of the Seam, and the struggling middle class of District 12 in general, can afford. Primrose is only fourteen, still not safe of the Reaping, so she can't be married off. That leaves me.

I hear a knock on the front door.

"Katniss! Go and greet your guest!" Mother orders. I exit my bedroom and obey, clapping a startled hand to my mouth when I realize who has been invited to dinner.

Darius Freeman is a 20-year-old Peacekeeper in District 12, distinctive for his flaming red hair flowing down to his shoulders, and his unusually friendly demeanor. Unusual for someone of his profession, anyway. When I have traded in the Hob for the game I hunt to feed my family, he has always bartered handsomely for them... even if in between these, he has openly flirted with me, haggling for a kiss as payment. It is a trade I have always rebuffed.

"Hello, Katniss," Darius beams.

"Hello, Darius," I reply, shifting my braid back behind my shoulder nervously. "Won't you come in?"

After dinner, Mother encourages Darius and I to retreat to my room to talk. My gut roils in part-revulsion and part-terror as I close the door behind us. What does she think we're going to do in here? Display physical affection as if to test whether we are a good match?

But Darius resorts to merely talking. For someone as blunt and even coarse as me, I am grateful that he gets right to the point.

"I care for you deeply, Katniss. You are one of the most admired women in the district. As strong-willed as you a beautiful - quite the catch. Would you consider accepting my hand in marriage?" And he takes my hand with a smile.

Even as I was half-expecting it, his proposal nonetheless shocks me. I don't answer for a long time as I think it all over, weighing all the Pros and Cons in my head. Marrying a Peacekeeper, even a private like Darius, is exactly the kind of economic security that Mother is seeking for me. For a poor young Seam woman like me, there are only a few options for advancing above my station. One would have been to become a Victor of the Hunger Games (a feat that District 12 has only accomplished twice in the last 76 years, and only once by a woman). More than this, I would be the wife of a Capitol official, guaranteeing for me a level of safety that the rest of the district could only dream of. There would be no hassle in being assigned a house, as all couples must go through when getting married at the Justice Building; I would likely move into Darius's home in the Peacekeeper Barracks.

However, every Pro has a Con to go with it. Darius explained to my family and I during dinner that he is paid a "healthy stipend" as part of his commission. The only problem is, I don't know what he means by "healthy." And if what I have seen of the accommodations in the Barracks is any indication, I highly doubt that such a stipend could sustain two people, especially a husband and a wife. Besides, my trades are mostly conducted through barter; rarely am I paid coins for my kills, so I would not add to Darius's income in any meaningful way. Yes, marriage to a Peacekeeper would grant me safety, but what kind of safety is left out of my control. On the one hand, it could mean my ability to conduct my illegal hunts and trading with absolutely no fear of repercussions. On the other hand, a status as a Peacekeeper's spouse could add an extra level of scrutiny that would make such hunts all but impossible.

Then there is the issue of the Barracks. Darius may have his own house, but the Peacekeepers still practice communal living. Theirs is a militarized lifestyle with relatively few opportunities for romance or sex. Though marriage for them is not technically forbidden, it is highly discouraged by higher-ups in the ranks, so most cadets abstain from marriage in favor of illegitimate couplings that more often than not result in bastard children without fathers. To have a woman in their midst, even if I would be the wife of one of their own, would not prevent Darius's comrades from trying to have their own way with me. I may be able to one day submit to being a wife, but I would be a faithful wife. Not a trophy wife and definitely not a sex toy to be passed around or otherwise change hands. Ultimately, I would be in close quarters as a form of temptation for other men, and have little privacy outside of Darius's one abode. Perhaps not even that.

Then there are the Unknowns. Would Darius expect me to sleep with him? Surely yes; it's what spouses do. And the proposition of sex has never excited me before. Besides, sex - especially the unprotected kind - often leads to babies. Babies who grow into children who are Reaped for arenas to die. Would Darius want children? In openly marrying where there is technically no rule against it, he would be free to pursue fatherhood with me. But I have never wanted children or to become a mother, for fear of losing them to the Reaping. So that is something I will not abide. What if Darius were reassigned to another district? If I were his wife, I would be compelled to go with him to wherever a new commission might take him, thus leaving behind my homeland and my family. What other difficulties would come from marrying a foreigner? For Darius is not from District 12, and our people take great pride in marrying one of our own kind, right down to class. Even marriages just between Merchant and Seam - like my parents' - are rare and frowned upon. Would I be seen even more differently in taking a husband who hails from one of the Career districts, possibly even the Capitol itself?

One last Unknown: I have no idea whether I am sexually attracted to Darius, if there might be any potential between us. Even for someone as adverse to sex as me, I cannot deny that Darius is handsome. He must be attracted to me, flirting with me and proposing, but I can't imagine why he would be. I am mostly skin and bones, with small breasts, and none of my mother or sister's more Merchant features.

As I am thinking all this, I have been absent-mindedly running my fingers through Darius's hair, sizing him up. I gaze into his deep blue eyes. He squeezes my hand and brings me back to reality.

"Can I kiss you?"

I blink. He is the only man who has ever asked me for a kiss before. But no one has ever kissed me. I have always been cold towards the subject. However, a kiss might be the best way to determine if Darius and I have potential, if I feel anything deeper for him at all.

I raise an eyebrow. " _May_ I kiss you?" I correct him. Then I shrug.

"All right."

Darius beams, almost as if he is pleasantly surprised. "Then, you'll allow it?"

I nod grimly. "I'll allow it."

Darius's hands encircle my waist and the back of my neck. Pulling me tight against his body, he kisses me full on the mouth.

I gasp as his lips seal over mine. I am unsure, as the sensation of kissing a man is brand new. I feel Darius's lips open up against mine and I try to match him, so that his tongue slips in between my parted lips and down my throat. I let out a choked, gargled sound at the contact. Darius is a good kisser. My skills, however, remain to be seen. I weave my fingers into Darius's hair, pull him closer and shut my eyes, doing my best to kiss him back.

As we kiss, Darius's hands grope lower, beneath my waist. I feel him touch my butt, and then boldly raise my leg to hook around his waist, so that the hem of my blue dress rides up on my thigh. I free one of my hands, seize his wrist and firmly move his hand back up.

At that moment, the door opens. I push into Darius's chest and we snap apart, our arms still around each other and with my leg still in a compromising and very sexual position. Looking over Darius's shoulders, my face and kissed lips flush in mortification as I see my sister staring at us, open-mouthed.

"Primrose," I gasp. "Go back to Mother. Not a word." She knows enough to obey. As soon as the door is closed, I squirm out of Darius's embrace.

"Nothing," I flatly deliver my verdict. "I feel nothing."

"No fireworks," Darius actually agrees. He smiles softly. "Thank you for giving me a chance." And he takes his leave.

Perhaps it is better that I felt nothing more for Darius, to say nothing of the fact that he touched my ass without permission. That killed his proposal for me. In any event, marrying Darius would have made my life far too complicated.


	2. Gale

**Gale**

After Darius fails to seduce me into marriage, Mother attempts to set me up with someone I already trust. I shrink back from the door in startled shock when that someone comes in.

The next night, Gale Hawthorne is invited to dinner. Afterwards, we are encouraged to retreat to my bedroom and discuss a possible marriage.

The only comforting thing is that Gale seems to feel just as awkward about this as I am.

"We wouldn't have to do anything differently, Catnip," he tries to tell me. "It could be just like our hunting sessions, except we leave and go home together."

If only it were that easy. Like the night before, my Pros and Cons go to war in my head.

What Gale is trying to say with his no-different comment is that we could be both friends and husband and wife at the same time. We would marry for friendship, dependency, kinship - a marriage I suppose I could get behind, if I am reticent to marry for economic advancement or even marry for love. But it's an impossible and unrealistic expectation. Unfortunately, it is also all too common. Many Seam marriages are based on deep friendship and understanding in lieu of romantic love. Gale would provide for me just as much as I already provide for myself and both our families.

The problem is that Gale would have to continue working in the mines even more than he already does to better care for a wife waiting at home. For that is where I would be. I could not risk losing him to a collapse the way my mother lost my father. In fact, I would refuse to.

Also of concern is that I know Gale's expectations for this marriage would differ from mine. He knows well my vow to never have children. But I know Gale wants to become a parent. He comes from a large family, one that will expect him to continue the Hawthorne line. However, Gale has two younger brothers (one of whom is Prim's age) who could just as easily accomplish this task when they come of age.

Finally, Gale and I could work and hunt all our lives and we would still be poor. And even if we agreed on matters of parenthood, any children of ours would remain in the cycle of poverty. Being a quarter Merchant on my mother's side wouldn't mean anything or get them anywhere. And there is still the constant presence of the arena. The Reaping.

No. Even if there was a way for Gale and I to eventually fall in love after we got married, our differences would still be too great. Our marriage would be doomed from the start.

The verdict makes me feel guilty, to the point that - even though Gale didn't ask me to - I step close to him and press my lips against his in a gentle kiss of apology.

When I break the kiss after a moment, Gale nods sadly, understanding. "I knew you'd kiss me."

I blink. "How?"

"You feel sorry for me."


	3. Peeta

**Peeta**

The very next night, Mother sets me up with yet another suitor. Hopefully he is the last one. Answering the door for dinner that night, I get the biggest surprise of all: the Baker's youngest son. Peeta Mellark.

Peeta Mellark!

 _Oh no_ , I think. _Not him_. For it is Peeta Mellark who once saved my entire family from starvation by throwing me a piece of burnt bread. It inspired me to hunt for my family. I owe him my life.

How else could I begin to repay him but give him my hand in marriage?

After dinner, Peeta and I this time retreat to the back porch. I have no idea what Mother said to convince Peeta to come court me. We are practically strangers!

But then Peeta offers a moving explanation. "I have been in love with you since I was five years old. The first day of school. When I heard you sing in music assembly."

I eye him warily, almost pained. Peeta Mellark and in love with me? _Me_? Oh God...

And that's not all: "My dad and your mom dated when they were teenagers."

As much as the thought leaves me stunned and nauseated, this pairing would make sense, as my mother was once just as much a Merchant as the Baker.

The Pro and Con list starts a-whirring in my head. Even though there should be no Pros and all Cons.

Like with Darius's offer from two nights prior, marrying a Merchant would mean marrying into a wealthy family and achieving economic security. That's a Pro. Additionally, I would be learning a worthy trade by marrying into a family of bakers. And Peeta has always had the reputation in school of being kind. Sincere. He would be a good and faithful husband, which not many women in Twelve can claim.

But the Cons are many. The biggest one of all is Peeta's mother. The Witch, as she is known. She is a sadistic woman who reportedly beats her own sons and is deeply prejudiced against anyone Seam. She would likely become untethered from reality if a son of hers married a Seam woman. Dealing with her as a mother-in-law would be nothing short of hell on earth.

Secondly, Peeta can say what he wants about our parents once being romantically involved, but that is not something that can just be passed down to us, their children - my mother's eldest and his father's youngest. Again: we are strangers. We only interacted once before and it was years ago.

However, these two big Cons are outweighed by a fact I cannot ignore: Peeta Mellark saved my life. I owe him a life debt. And if there is one thing that Seam people, especially me, appreciate just as much as a fair trade, it is the concept of owing someone.

And the way I see it, the only way I can even begin to repay Peeta for saving my life... is to marry him and take him as my husband.

So, Peeta's proposal, his courtship, that hang in the air unspoken, are answered by one single word.

"Yes." And throwing my arms around him, I kiss him passionately on the lips.

My mouth dances along his, prying it open and slipping my tongue in between the split. Peeta moans and clutches me tightly, kissing me back even as I begin to kiss all along his face, his neck, his ears, back to his mouth once more. And with my lips fused to his, I whisper, my voice strangely hoarse:

"But once we get married, you can't ever tell me what to do."

Peeta draws back out of the kiss, mouth slightly agape. "Then you mean it? You'll allow it?"

I nod. "I'll allow it." I kiss him again. "But no children," I hiss into his mouth. I will not budge on that.

Peeta predictably looks disappointed by this second condition, but it doesn't seem to deter him. Perhaps he thinks he can change my mind about babies in time. He'll have to wait a very long while.

"Go ahead, then," I smirk, draping my arms lazily about his neck. "Ask me."

"Ask what?" He echoes dumbly, likely wondering if this is a dream.

"Ask me to marry you," I prompt.

Peeta kneels before me, which I find sweet if a little unnecessary. "Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"

"Yes," I smile softly. "I will marry you."

We kiss for a few more minutes, to get the feel of it and process our engagement, before I take him back inside to announce him as my fiancé.

* * *

A few days later, I don my blue Reaping dress one last time, checking myself in the mirror with Mother as I prepare to wed Peeta Mellark in the Justice Building. Mother has never owned a wedding dress for her to pass down to me and Primrose, but this nice piece of clothing will do.

Peeta and I are assigned a house, and then we sign the marriage license, sealing it with a simple kiss. Mother and Prim are present, as are Peeta's father and two brothers. His mother is apparently fit to be tied, but it doesn't matter.

That evening, we gather at Peeta's and my new house for our Toasting. I am floored when the wife of Peeta's eldest brother offers me her wedding dress to wear. After toasting the bread and sealing it with another kiss, Peeta takes me up to bed, and I let him have sex with me. I sleep with him and lose my virginity to him as we consummate our marriage. Mother gave me the special potion to prevent pregnancy, after he and I come together.

As the years pass, Peeta and I still have no children. My husband seems to accept my reason why and even admires me for it. Overtime, we eventually fall in love and I gladly fall into the role of a baker's wife. A Merchant's spouse.

The best part is? I still get to hunt whenever I want. My squirrels are my husband's favorite. As for me? I enjoy his cheese buns the best.


End file.
